alt or battery

[Kim K Kaiser]

having just done the ac system,

seems my batter y or alternator may be going out,, 

at off    battery is at about 11.8   while running, doesnt get to about but 12.5 on the meter.  11.8 doesnt seem to give it enought juice to start, so it just cliccks,, i put a battery booster on , fires right up,,

it doesnt get to the 14.9 or so while engine is on.  so, hte question is, is it batter or alternator?

battery is about 2.5 years old, if that matters.

secondly,  would the additionl of the compressor belt to the engine have any effect on the alternator ? would that addition to the spinning have any effects on any other systems.  I havent run the ac but once, since i completed it, and just enought to see if it was cold air,, its only about 45 here for a high right now.

just wondering if there would be any addiitonal drain on the alternator now that ac is hooked up.

[Jason Edge]

If the alternator is producing any current, even a weak 11 to 12 volt current, instead 14+ volt current, the GEN light should go out.  It truly is a dummy light as it basically tells you when there is no charge... again, when everything else is in good working order.

Also just to be clear, my battery test suggestion is to disconnect battery cables (no current drain), fully charge battery to full charge (usually 12.4 and 12.8 volt), leave disconnect for 12 to 24 hrs and then retest voltage.

Charging your battery may not take long expecially if it is already 11+ volts as you indicated. If you are doing a trickle charge it may take some time but should not take too long.

If battery will not charge up to 12.4 to 12.8 volts in a reasonable amount of time (depends on type of charger... my smart charger would probably charge it in 10 minutesw or less), then battery is bad, probably a bad cell.  If battery has drained down to 11 something volts in 24 hrs that indicates it will not hold a charge. Again, I have on several occasions taken a known bad battery to the Auto Zone store and have the young clerk do the 15 second quick load test and tell me the battery was good, when I had just charged it disconnected a day or two before only to watch the voltage drop with zero load on it. I like this test because this is keeps it real and what we are most likely going to run into one  morning when we go to crank the car after sitting a day or more.  A load test is like the head light test you will find in the shop manual where you test cell by cell in the old school batteries. Again, I'm just trying to help. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Thanks,  l ll report back after charge and letting it sit for a day

[Jason Edge]

All the Sears around here except one way up on the other side of Raleigh 20+ miles away have closed down. They were top notch auto centers back in the day.. and that 1000 CCA Die Hard Gold battery (before they watered it down to a much inferior battery that carried the same name) was bullet proof.  Sorry to get sidetracked. We have an AutoZone 1.5 miles from my house, an O'Reilly's about 4 miles, and a NAPA, Advance and Pep Boys along the way but I've been going to the AutoZone about 20 years now. We had an actual olde school auto parts store with a staff of car guys witih a machine shop attached that has went belly under since the Kung Flu! There is also a top notch auto electrical shop about 4 miles out with true professionals but with rates about $75 an hr to even touch anything they are always my last resort... actually they are my no resort. I'll figure something out on my own but have recommended them to local customers that were usually pleased even if their wallet was significantly lighter. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Thats part of my problem.  Nearest oreilly is 60 miles,,,,autozone 75.  Always buy two of everything or several sizes of same itmes to avoid a 60 mile trip for a 10dollar part

[Jason Edge]

He used Jason-Mart for a new alternator for basically $25 to $40 less than the store price considering the core charge. I also personally took it to the PO and shipped 2-3 Day Priority last night so it would go out first thing this morning.  I probably make $10, put a dependable & solid alternator in his hands for considerably less than store cost.  I call that a win-win. Even if it doesn’t solve the specific issue he has a good backup. I personally always keep at least one backup alternator for my own Caddy.

[Kim K Kaiser]

Jason mart....funny,    verybefficient service

[Jason Edge]

Tony, I have 5 or 6 storage bins marked Jason CDV that I do not  touch.  This is "Dino's Stash!" and is above and beyone the 200,000 other parts I have! 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Update. I charged the battery for 24 hours on  regular charger, tested it on my meter,  read 13.19.

24 hours after removing charger i tested battery agsin. It registered 12.87.    Wasnt planning on startig again until alt comes in,  but thats were the battery charge stands of now

[Jason Edge]

Battery seems good. Might read voltage tomorrow. As long as it stays within the 12.4 and 12.8 range for a few days it seems good. I've let mine go a month or so and see it dip down to 12.3 but still plenty to crank the car. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Yeah, just lettin it sit til alt comes in.  

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

A battery with a bad cell will hold a charge, show 12.5 volts, but have low voltage at cranking.  Get the battery tested with the correct equipment. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

When i pulled the plug out of the old alt. The black platc plugcover  broke apart due to agecan heat i guess but eiter way. I didnt notice which paddle wen tonwhich paddle.  I think its yellow n black.   Dnt kno if it matters but can someone tell me which goes where?